10. Charlotte Trusts Us
CHARLOTTE TRUSTS US
Winter break had come and gone in a blur of sugar, bad television and Charlotte refusing to leave my side for more than twelve consecutive hours.
We’d watched every season of Glee that Netflix had available. I've devoured so much junk food that I could probably give a small country a heart attack. Somewhere between Christmas and New Year’s I’d almost convinced myself that nothing had changed.
The first day back from the break and everyone was too tired to function, a lot of us suffered from the hours of sleep lost over the break.
God I felt like the walking dead. I pulled my long sleeve down around my wrist, double checking the large purpling bruise wasn’t visible.
It was the first time I actually went home in weeks.
Dad was drunk, like really drunk. As soon as I crossed the threshold, his icy grip clung desperately to my arm, sending a shiver down my spine and igniting a rush of fear and helplessness within me.
Where the fuck have you been? I blinked, my heart pounding as I focused on the combination for my locker.
My fingers fumbled over the final number, panic gripping me as I had no choice but to start all over again.
Don’t let him win. I swiped at the sweat beading across my brow and my eyes caught on the tall form walking down the middle of the hall. Lee.
I rushed to open my locker before he spotted me and cursed under my breath when the metal refused to budge. “Fuck it,” I muttered turning around.
“Lilly!” Charlotte’s voice caught my ear and I pivoted on my heels. Charlotte shoved passed Lee and smiled at me. Lee’s eyes found mine across the hall as Charlotte stepped forward. Damn it. He’s really back.
Charlotte started talking about something. I had no idea what because Lee was standing at the other end of the hallway. I blinked refocusing on her wanting to drive a wedge between Lee’s heated stare and my lingering thoughts.
A kiss, it was just a kiss. I chastised myself as Charlotte talked on and I nodded my head. Her hand reached out to my arm to guide us to our class and as soon as she’d wrapped her fingers around my bruise a sharp hiss left my lips.
“Shit,” I muttered and Charlotte quickly withdrew her hand, her eyes filled with concern.
“What’s wrong, Lilly? Did I hurt you?” she asked, her voice almost breaking with worry.
I hesitated for a moment, then shook my head and gently threw my arm around her shoulders, trying to hide the ache I felt inside.
“No, I just slept on my arm funny,” I said, but the words felt hollow, like a lie sneaking out and slipping away, leaving behind a heavy silence.
We turned silently and started walking toward the first period, each step weighed down by unspoken fears and fleeting hope.
Morning classes felt like an endless void without Charlotte by my side.
We only shared the first and seventh period, and even that felt empty without her presence, as if the day itself was holding its breath.
I couldn’t shake the ache of her absence, the weight of missing her gnawing at my chest. Worse, my thoughts drifted to the other Callahan.
Every time I rounded the corner I expected to see him.
Every time a motorcycle revved outside the window my stomach twisted.
By lunch I was convinced I’d imagined the whole thing.
Then, as I hurried from Mr. Taur’s math class toward Ms. King’s social studies, a pair of hands suddenly yanked me into a small, shadowy supply closet.
Before I could even react, a mouth fiercely claimed mine—frantic, almost like a plea for reassurance in a world that felt so cold.
It hit me like a lightning storm—unexpected, overwhelming tearing through me like a bullet.
My instinct kicked in; I sank my teeth into the lips pressed against me, pushing with all my strength, demanding space and clarity amid the chaos.
A deep, muffled chuckle rumbled from him, sending shivers down my spine.
“Fucking hell, Lee,” I hissed under my breath, my voice thick with shock and anger, “you scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry, Lilly-bug, I couldn’t hold back any longer.” A laugh burst from him, bright and spontaneous, and in that moment, his white teeth flashed fiercely against the shadows, illuminating a side of him I’d never truly seen before.
“Warn a girl next time, Jesus,” I muttered, my voice filling with a mixture of frustration and affection as I pounded softly against his chest. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, just enough to let him know how much he mattered to me.
“I missed you—more than I can say,” he whispered, his hand tenderly tracing my cheek, fingers weaving into my hair as he drew me close, melting into that warm, sacred embrace.
I’d always thought Lee to be rough around the edges, but seeing this gentle, caring soul beneath the surface broke something inside me—an unspoken fragility I hadn’t known I carried.
And in that fragile, breathless moment, my defenses crumbled. A tear escaped, slipping quietly down my face onto his shirt, heavy with all the words I couldn’t say, all the feelings I’d kept buried deep inside. But I caught myself, holding back the storm, even as my heart ached.
“When can I see you again?” Lee asked softly as if every word was weighed down by the ache in his heart.
I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his silence pressing into me, desperate and unsure.
“You’ll see me this afternoon,” I said. “Charlotte and I are going to study after school.”
But even as I spoke, the air around us thickened with his exasperation, crackling with unspoken emotion. If I could see his face, I knew I’d see the clenched jaw—those unspoken protests, the pain buried beneath his composure.
“That’s not what I meant,” he finally said, his words hanging in the space between us, heavy with longing and frustration.
I knew exactly what he was asking—no, pleading—for something more. Not with Charlotte. Not in the hallways. Not in stolen moments between classes. Just us. Pure, raw, honest. My heartbeat thrummed wildly in my chest, pounding like a drum of inevitable truth.
“Lee…” I whispered, voice trembling.
His hand reached out, finding mine—warm, familiar with shared needs.
“I missed you,” he confessed, each word bursting out like it couldn’t be contained, telling me what he’d held inside for weeks.
I looked down at our hands clasped tightly, feeling the weight of the boy I was supposed to forget, the secret that threatened to shatter my world.
The truth that could destroy my friendship with Charlotte—the very love I was forbidden to feel.
“I—I don’t think this is a good idea,” I murmured. The words tasted like betrayal on my tongue. His grip loosened, a silent plea.
“Lilly,” he urged, almost pleading now.
“Charlotte trusts us,” I managed to say, my voice barely more than a breath.
And in that instant, silence draped itself over us—thick, heavy, unavoidable.
It tethered us to what we couldn’t deny, binding us to the love we dared not speak so loudly.
For the first time, neither of us could pretend Charlotte wasn’t standing right there—in the very middle of what was becoming something neither of us wanted to lose.